Hastings olive oil company to change labelling after probe finds imported ingredients

The company's base in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor

An olive oil company in Hastings says it will redesign some of its labelling after an investigation found one of its top brands was not wholly New Zealand made and featured misleading packaging.

However, the company says it welcomed the scrutiny. It blends and bottles its oil in Hawke's Bay, so believed it was okay to include "New Zealand" on the label.

The Village Press, based in Flaxmere, produces a variety of extra-virgin olive oils, many of which include New Zealand on the label.

A recent Consumer NZ investigation of 20 extra-virgin olive oils revealed that a couple of brands labelled as New Zealand also contained imported oils.

The Village Press brand First Press was one of those products.

While it is not illegal to do so, Consumer NZ stated it's misleading for consumers.

Some of the company's extra-virgin olive oil products including the brand in question, First Press. Photo / Supplied

The Village Press Ltd chief executive Scott Wright said the company recently started blending New Zealand olive oil with Australian olive oil for its First Press product.

"We welcome the scrutiny of Consumer magazine," he said.

"Being a New Zealand company that makes the finished blend of oil, and then filters, bottles and packs the oil at our Hawke's Bay site, we put New Zealand on our label.

"Upon the feedback from Consumer magazine, we have started work on label redesign where we shall be clear about the source of origin versus where the final product is blended and made."

However, he did not say how many of the company's olive oil brands would need to be relabelled as several of the company's oils include "New Zealand" on the packaging, not just the First Press product.

He also did not say exactly when the change of labelling would be carried out.

He said historically, the First Press oil had been a wholly New Zealand oil but "recent massive supply chain disruptions" among other supply issues meant they had to blend it with an Australian extra-virgin olive oil.

Consumer NZ stated new country of origin regulations - which came into force this week for some fresh foods - made it mandatory for companies to disclose the origin of certain foods such as fruit and vegetables, meat and cured pork, and fish and shellfish.

Olive oil is not covered by that regulation.